RS13- The Reactions of Many (Original Version)
by 90TheGeneral09
Summary: Everyone thought they were just two normal boys, but they weren't. Andre said it himself though; who would want to think that their friend, son, or peer would ever do something so horrible like killing their classmates? They sure didn't.
1. Chapter 1- Chris Kriegman

**Chapter 1- Chris Kriegman**

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 **May 1st, 2001**

 **10:06 AM**

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 **A/N: I have decided to add to the Restoration Series. Since Original Version editions of pretty much all the other Restoration Series works have been posted since I recovered my copies of them in 2017, it seems only fair that I include "The Reactions of Many" and "The Aftermath" and give the readers- if there are any, ha ha ha- a chance to read the stories exactly as they were when I found them on this site in 2011/2012. Remember- *none* of the stories covered in the Restoration Series are mine, least of all the Original Version stories, where the content of the chapters is 100% original and thus 100% the work of someone else.**

 **This story may be more like 99% original, however, since even my saved copy of this story did not have a specified time of day for Chapter 3, although it had a specified time of day for Chapters 1, 2, and 4. So I simply copied over the 9:15PM time I randomly picked, going off how Chapter 3 has a sentence specifying it as being "after nine" at night.**

 **This is the 40th story posted to the Zero Day archive on this website.**

 **Below in quotation marks is the original author's notes that displayed on Chapter 1 for this story.**

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" **A/N: This is going to be a short multi-chaptered story of people's reactions to Zero Day, mainly Chris, the Kriegmans, the Gabriels, and Rachel. So probably around 4 or 5 chapters... this is the first chapter. I chose Chris as Cal and Andre left them a note. Also, seeing as how there was never a name of the school, I just chose a name at random. Forgive my crappy place-naming skills. I'm great at naming characters; places, not so much."**

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Chris yawned as he walked back into his room, scratching at the back of his neck. He looked around, trying to figure out if anything was out of place. Something felt a little bit… off.

He was nearly certain it was probably nothing at all, but these feelings just didn't come out of nowhere. Then again, maybe it was like "de-ja-vu". Chris always had the feeling of de-ja-vu but it never amounted to anything. Yet, the feeling he had at the moment wasn't anything like de-ja-vu, but at the same time, he didn't know what it was like.

The man sighed, sitting back on his bed. It felt like things had been moved. Probably nothing big, and it didn't seem like anything had been stolen… but Chris just couldn't shake off this feeling.

Looking around, Chris frowned as he saw a piece of paper placed purposefully atop some books that he didn't remember putting there. Standing up he walked over and picked the paper up. As he read, he could feel his stomach tighten; a bad feeling settling in the pit of it.

 _Chris, sorry we took your guns. We needed them for our movie. Have fun at yo mamma's._

There was no signature, but Chris didn't need to see one to know who had written it. Andre and Calvin… a movie? What movie could they possibly be making that included real guns and—

Chris dropped the paper and threw his door open. Reaching up, he grabbed the key for his gun closet door. Quickly, he shakily unlocked the door, grabbing the other key for the cupboard where he kept them.

 **XX**

He could swear his heart stopped as he stared into the cupboard. Only one gun remained—the gun he had removed the indicator on. "Shit… fuck!" Chris opened the drawers before taking a few steps back.

Everything was gone. His bullets, clips, his fucking guns were all gone. Didn't Andre and Calvin get how fucking dangerous guns were? What were they going to do with them? What "movie" was this?

A crazy thought came to the front of his mind but he shook that away, feeling a bit guilty for thinking of his cousin and cousin's friend like that. There was no way they would do anything like that… right? That question had been purely hypothetical.

Chris leaned back against the door frame, staring at the empty place where his guns should be.

Yet… "What do you think would be the best gun to actually kill somebody with?" The question Calvin had asked had been so serious and both he and Andre had looked very curious about his response. He had thought it was a strange question at the time, but had decided to think nothing of it. Obviously it was probably just a question by two teenagers—teenagers liked guns. Andre had been raised learning how to hunt, he knew that, and Calvin was a natural with it.

Locking his closet back up, he walked out into the living area of the house. He would just call Andre's parents. Chris didn't want to get him and Calvin into trouble, but obviously they didn't get just how dangerous it was to be going around with a loaded gun. Plus, they had stolen them.

If the two of them really were using it for a "movie" (probably a school video), they could have just asked and he would have let them borrow them- under supervision of course.

Grabbing his phone, he dialed his uncle's house, bringing the phone up to his ear, listening to it ring. Only a moment later—something which shocked him slightly—the phone was answered and the sound of his aunt's panicked voice greeted him.

"Ch-Chris! Have you seen the news?" Johanne Kriegman seemed to force out, and Chris' brows furrowed.

"No… what's going on? Did something happen?"

"T-turn on the news! Quickly!"

He grabbed the remote with his free hand, turning the TV on and quickly pushing in the channel numbers for the local news. A picture of Andre's and Calvin's high school met him and slowly he lowered himself onto the couch, feeling as if he would vomit at any moment.

"—ports of any fatalities just yet. If you are just joining us on this Tuesday morning, we have gotten 911 calls of a shooting at Tielson High School." Chris was barely holding the phone up to his ear, barely taking in what the reporter was saying.

 **XX**

Shooting? Guns? What was this? It couldn't be what he thought… they wouldn't do that. It was probably just a coincidence.

"So far, there have been six kids taken to hospitals for serious injuries. Other minor ones have begun being attended to at close by houses. We know this is difficult, but the police ask that people stay away from Tielson High School and to please go to the public library to find out if your child has been accounted for.

"There are still a lot of kids trapped inside of the school at the moment, and the SWAT team are trying their best to get to them. It's been affirmed that there are two gunmen. Their names are not yet known—"

The reporter went on but Chris wasn't taking any more of it in. Two gunmen? That just about set it in stone, didn't it? His phone dropped to his side on the couch. Andre and Calvin had been the ones to ask to go shooting with him. They had happily helped take them out and put them back. They had known where the keys were.

They had asked which gun would be the best to kill somebody with.

Chris' eyes closed tightly, jaw clenching. He knew what all these things were adding up to, but he didn't want to think them. To think that would be betraying his cousin but… what else could he think?

"FUCK!" he screamed, kicking at the coffee table. "Shit…" He felt like he was being torn apart between realism and idiotic optimism. How could it be that his cousin could do something? Andre had always been a good kid… he had fun hanging out with him- but now this?

There was no way Andre would do something like this. He just couldn't accept it.

Yet Chris didn't see how he could accept anything other than that.


	2. Chapter 2- Rachel Lurie

**Chapter 2- Rachel Lurie**

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" **A/N: Because I am a horrible horrible person, I placed Rachel in section of the library close enough to LIB 6 so that she can hear everything going on but not see it. Ah well. I may actually do a couple more chapters after this once I get the reveal part done... a bit later, maybe a couple of days where they have a bit of a clearer mind and can you know... think a bit more clearly about this."**

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 **May 1st, 2001**

 **10:03 AM**

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She didn't know what was happening. One moment Rachel was studying for a test in the library and the next thing she knew there was screaming and people running in every direction. Her natural instinct was to also run but she couldn't move. Quickly she abandoned her books and huddled beneath a table behind some bookshelves with a couple of other people, trying to quiet their breathing.

"What… what's happening?" she quietly asked one of the guys next to her, holding her legs tightly to her chest.

The guy looked hesitant to speak but quickly and just as quietly answered, "Two guys… guns…"

Rachel could feel her eyes widen, fingers clenching into her jeans. There were people with guns inside the school at that very moment? Why would they come to their school and attack them? What had any of them ever done wrong?

Her breathing picked up slightly but she bit hard on her lip to keep herself silent, footsteps on the other side of the bookshelves walking past. They seemed slow, unlike a scared student who would probably be running as their lives definitely depended on it. Were they the footsteps of the shooters?

Was she going to die today?

She let out a small breath as they just continued walking past, not thinking—or caring—to check behind the shelves to see if there were people hiding there. Her relief was short lived, however, when she realized people had ran past to hide in the next section of the library; right where the two gunmen were headed.

"Hey everybody!" a voice yelled in the slight distance and she felt something familiar shoot down her spine. She recognized that voice from somewhere.

Her fingers tightened around her legs.

"Hi," another voice—also somewhat familiar, but less so—said a bit quieter. It was horrifying to her that she recognized these voices. Were they students? At first she had thought it would likely be two crazy adults who just decided to shoot up a school, but were these actual students of her school?

Did she recognize because she had classes with them? Did she ever talk to these people? All of these thoughts were racing through Rachel's head and she just didn't know what to think about them, what to do about them.

Could she even do anything about them?

There were screams from a girl and Rachel mentally begged her to be quiet. She understood, but yelling would only anger them probably. She didn't want anyone to get hurt… she could only pray that no one yet had been hurt.

"That's funny," one of the voices said and disgust filled her to the brim. What was funny? The screaming? Who were these horrible people?

Rachel buried her face in her knees, trying to keep her emotions in check, trying to stay calm.

There was ruffling and the sounds of chairs being pushed away. The screaming got louder, blocking out any chance to hear what the gunmen were saying. Not that she really wanted to, but she didn't want to listen to people screaming in fear either; it only enhanced her fear that she may not leave the school alive.

"How are 'ya? Oh cool!" She flinched, covering her ears as there were gunshots from the section just across from her, tears finally starting to roll down her cheeks. A boy came running close only for more gunshots to follow. The boy fell to the ground, blood pouring from his body.

Rachel covered her mouth, turning away.

Laughter. She could hear laughter. These disgusting freaks were laughing about killing somebody. They were enjoying this. How could somebody enjoy this?

Another scream. "Shut up!" a shiver went down her spine. She shook her head quickly. No.

Footsteps came closer, and she couldn't help a glance. She stiffened as she saw two pairs of legs, both wearing black baggy pants. She was slightly thankful that she couldn't see their faces. Rachel feared what she would discover should she see who they were.

"Dude! What are you doing?" screams continued to echo through the library, guns firing off at someone who she thought might be trying to run. She wanted to run. She wanted to get out of there, but she knew should she move, it might be her final moves.

But she also knew that if she stayed, she might die there.

"Hi, how are ya?" That voice said again, and it sounded so strikingly familiar, and she knew why it sounded familiar, but she didn't want to believe it. If that was his voice then the other person… she just couldn't accept that.

"Oh my god!" a girl screamed, crying in fear.

"Oh my god! Oh my god!" the male mocked, and she covered a mouth. It was getting harder and harder to deny. She could hear the voice almost so clearly as if it was right next to her, but why?

"Go away!"

"Oh, go away?" the voice laughed loudly and Rachel pushed her hands to her ears, not wanting to hear anymore.

"Leave me alone! No! No please!"

"Look at the blood! Jesus!" Rachel bit her lip, holding in a small sob. No, no, no! She wanted to deny it. She didn't want it to be him! It couldn't be him… how could he do something like this? That wasn't his voice, her friend's voice. It couldn't be him!

The girl continued to scream, yet the teen's voice was just something she couldn't seem to block out. "Is the gun pointed at you?" That same voice asked. His voice.

Calvin's voice.

"No… what're you doing?"

"Shut up," yet another scream. "What? What? ARE YOU DEAD YET?"

Rachel couldn't hold back the next sob and she vaguely felt an arm wrap around her. She kept her crying silent, turning into the person's chest. "W-why…?" she asked, knowing she wouldn't get an answer.

"No, you're still alive, aren't you?" The voice she knew as Calvin's stated, his voice so much crueler than she had ever heard before and something came back to her; something they had joked about so many months before.

 _"Unless you have some sort of evil locked inside that I've never seen before, it's Andre."_

 _"Oh, I lock it inside. Nobody sees it—I keep it from everyone."_

Had Calvin been serious? At the time she had thought they been joking, but had he actually told her that he had… evil locked inside of him? Darkness that nobody but he and Andre knew about? Why hadn't he told her his thoughts? They were friends. She could have helped him.

Unless Calvin hadn't wanted help. How long had her friend been feeling like this? She had known him for around five years. Why had he not trusted her to come to with this?

"Shut up! SHUT UP!" Calvin yelled at the screaming girl and Rachel clenched her eyes shut. She didn't want to hear anymore, she didn't want to see anymore. She wanted out of here.

She could hear quiet words, pleading at Calvin and Andre to stop and Rachel could agree with that sentiment.

"What?" Calvin asked sharply, and she recognized it as disbelief. Rachel couldn't believe the way her friend—was he still her friend? Was she still his friend?—was speaking to these kids. Even still… she would have expected Andre to be acting like… that. Except it was Calvin. Calvin was the one taunting them. He was being the most vocal.

Why? What had happened to her friend for him to turn out this way? Did she ever really know him at all?

"You're still alive. Stop? You want me to stop? You want me to stop right now? SHUT UP! Look at her. Look at her right there." Her? Who was her? One of Calvin's… victims? "SHUT UP!" the sound of rapid fire went off and she let out another small sob, trying to hold herself back.

She was scared, disgusted. How could anyone do something like this? Especially someone so sweet as Calvin? Even Andre… he had always seemed violent and angry, and it was less of a stretch for her to believe it, but he still took it so far as to kill people for no reason? To kill their classmates?

Rachel felt like she had taken a trip to the Twilight Zone. That must have been it because there was no way this could be real life.

Someone ran past and there was quiet discussion between Andre and Cal. Rachel wished she could stop listening to them.

"Cal, look, its Greg! Greg sit down! Relax,"

"Please don't hurt me, sir!"

"Sir!" Andre laughed. "I like that."

"He called you sir." Calvin chuckled and Rachel felt bile rise up in her throat. How could they laugh at someone's fear?

"Please don't shoot me!"

"I can't kill you, you're too pathetic. You're gonna live today man, you're gonna live." Rachel let out a small breath of relief. Thank god for that at least.

Next thing she knew there were shots and the arms tightened around her. He said though… they killed him anyway? Who were these people? Who was this person she used to call her friend?

Why did everything seem to want to move so slowly?

"This gun sucks." Calvin stated. Rachel's fingers clutched at her pants.

"Looks fine to me. Did the job." Did the job? "Hey! Look, it's another guy behind the couch! You're not gonna say anything? Nothing? Not no 'oh please help me!'?" More rapid fire gunshots. She was starting to get used to the sound.

Rachel didn't like that.

"Hey! STOP!"

"FUCK YOU!"

"…'Fuck you'." Both Andre and Calvin started laughing. Rachel couldn't figure out what was so funny. "He came back for his bag! He totally came back for his fucking bag."

"Why would he go back for his bag?"

"Probably had like weed in there or something. Figured if he gets out he's not getting in trouble." She heard footsteps walking away from the library but all Rachel could do was sit there, even as police sirens sounded in the distance.

What was this? A nightmare? It had to be some nightmare that she couldn't get out of.

Rachel felt herself pulled up and nearly dragged towards a secondary exit of the library, but she could barely pay attention to any of that. Her best friend… he was a murderer?

It didn't make sense, but she knew it was the truth. Still though, how could this truth be real? How could it be fact? Her friend—Calvin Gabriel—a murderer? A killer? Those words just didn't fit in with the image of the boy she knew.

At least, she had thought she had known him. Obviously that image had all fallen to pieces. Rachel didn't know what to think anymore.


End file.
